Farewell to Summer

Even though the fall equinox came a couple weeks ago, I've been trying to hang on to summer a bit longer. Spending this change over in Phoenix, with the beautiful weather and sun shining, helped me cling to the fancy free feeling I've had the past couple months. A magical summer of travel, new experiences, and an open mind. The last week of September I attended several yoga classes and in almost every one, the teacher spoke about the seasons changing and our lives possibly shifting. This immediately engendered a nervous feeling in my stomach and a tight sensation in my heart. Does autumn mean I have to check back into reality and possibly take myself a bit more seriously? Panicked I started to reflect on my mindset over the past few months, and how I consistently felt reassured about my decisions and why now I thought that might change. Then I realized-nope-no reality check necessary. I can take my summer state of mind into every season. Maybe the sun won't linger but I am in control of my attitude and my future. So embracing change and seeing the leaves change (here in Kansas City) I'm excited for the next couple of months. But I wanted to post my last set of summer photos from the final Wanderlust festival of the summer. In the beautiful Mont-Tremblant.

Hike and photography class with Ali!!

View from the top of the mountain.

Lakeside at Sunset

Body art by Amir for the Wanderlust Spectacular!

Posing with the lovely Chelsey Korus & Megan Stockman.

Below with MC Yogi after dancing onstage at his set!

Quixotic killing it on the main stage!

And finally a little compilation of the Wanderlust Spectacular show :)

[embed]http://http://vimeo.com/103708106[/embed]

Farewell to summer...

jerome is my life

Yesterday I was at a coffee shop working on a very tedious photo project and as started to hit my editing limit I began to get distracted and lose focus. Instead of working I engaged in two of my favorite activities- people watching and ease-dropping! Two men sitting next to me seemed to be having a reunion of sorts and were catching up on each others lives. It soon become obvious that one of them was passing through the city and needed advice on Phoenix must-sees and road trip stops on the way up north. His friend was laying out a pretty detailed route through the city, hitting a few Arizona gems, stopping in Jerome, Sedona and finally Flagstaff before crossing the state lines. He pointed out some great scenic routes, look out points, wineries and much more. I of course had to butt in at one point and add on to his already extensive itinerary! This conversation definitely peeked my interest and temped me to hop in my car and take a road trip of my own. Although I fought the urge, I did decide to revisit some photos I took at some of these gorgeous locations. One spot that was on the way out of Phoenix was Arcosanti, an experimental community created by architect Paolo Soleri. http://www.arcosanti.org. I recently visited another site of Soleri's called Cosanti where his famous windbells are made and sold. They pour the bronze for the bells on site and handcraft each one. These are 10,000 dollar plus bells people! Anyway, both sites are pretty amazing to see. Here are some images from Cosanti shot with a 50 mm 1.4 lens (thank you Andrew Pielage for taking me and letting me use this!! http://apizm.com)

Beautiful architecture and gorgeous detail! Worth checking out!

Another stop on the itinerary was Jerome- a historic copper mining town that is now a tourist attraction as it is the largest ghost town in America. Now is it home to several wineries, art galleries and expansive views! I posted photos from my first trip there awhile back, but went again more recently with my good friend Sarah. Having such a stunning friend at my disposal, I made her model for me and play around in the unique setting. We also got to have a bit of fun with the Jerome fire department while we were there!

And lastly, just a few black and white photos from Sedona. It's interesting to see the scenery without the gorgeous red rock but you can still get a feel for how amazing this place is. A destination worth traveling to over and over and over again! Everyone on the planet should add Sedona to their bucket lists!

And there you have it! Some Arizona travel gems.

post is my life

After having one of my best friends and mentors in town last week from San Francisco, I remembered a couple rolls of film that I developed and tossed aside from my time spent with him in San Francisco last summer. Robert is the director of Post:ballet in San Francisco and brings a small group of dancers from all over the US together to create, play, experiment and finally perform in a city where anything goes. He has a way of bringing out the most creative side of anyone he works with. The past three summers participating have been extremely rewarding for me and I always leave a little transformed and majorly inspired to push my own and others' boundaries. After having him in Phoenix and digging through my film, I wanted to share a little bit of the energy that the city and the people of Post:ballet bring! These are some studio shots from rehearsals I snapped on my 35 mm. Very old film and no editing.

 The Italian Stallion-Domenico Luciano

Myles Lavallee

Caroline Langner

Christian Squires- The first lady

Happy Endings- Raychel and Caroline

Cray cray Ray Ray-inside the studio and out

Double exposure of Raychel taking a break on the fire escape

The other couple rolls I found were color film that I took while out playing in the city (usually promoting the shows) and on a day trip to Napa Valley.

Christian in his Sunday best

Dolores Park on a hot (rare) Sunday

Ray Ray chillin in our apartment in the TL- probably overlooking some bust at DIVAS

Road trippin across the foggy Golden Gate Bridge, through the Muir Woods to Muir beach

And finally to Napa Valley! Beautiful and full of vino!!

And last but not least, gotta throw some of the instragrams from the summer in!

From the Erte inspired photo shoot

Ray and I doing a shoot for London Sole

Can't wait to see what Post:Ballet season 4 brings. Thanks for the inspiration Robert!!!

San Francisco is my life

When I think of summer foods, fresh fruit, cold vegetable juice, light salads and such come to mind. Foods that refresh and energize you in the heat of the sunny season. Hot coffee on a cloudy day definitely does not sound like fun in the sun. However, this is how I spent much of the last month. Summer in San Francisco can be cold and windy. And it is impossible to resist the aroma and ambiance seeping from all the local, unique coffee shops throughout the city. For almost  a year I have only enjoyed coffee on the weekends, replacing my daily morning cup of joe with a hemp protein shake during the workweek. San Francisco ruined that routine and I find myself again addicted to coffee. While I spent a month living in the city dancing for Post:Ballet, I couldn't help but be attracted to all the coffee shops-and not just the delicious coffee (and it better be delicious because you are dropping many pennies)...the decor, the people, the variety. So here I give you a breakdown of my favorite spots that I visited each morning en route to rehearsal in the mission. The studios were very close to one of my favorite streets in the city-Valencia. I good place to wander and shop for vintage clothes and of course get some coffee beans. A place that is always crowded and full of interesting folk is Four Barrel. Art on the walls, great music playing and huge roasting machines visible to the public make this cafe very unique and enticing. Their practices support social sustainability and fair trade and each cup is made with care. You might have to wait a bit longer than Starbucks, but the coffee is incredible and even beautiful...latte art can make each cup taste even better. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of the animal heads on the wall, the overall feeling of the place was great. Perfect for reading, catching up with a friend or just sipping on coffee people watching.

Another popular spot in Valencia is Ritual Coffee. My lovely hostess for the month swore by their beans and always kept a bag around the apartment. So I often made Ritual coffee at home rather than visit the shop. But it is another cute cafe with killer beans! Fair trade from Columbia-pricey but worth it. A great logo as well.

One of the dancers recommended a smaller coffee shop that her friend opened a few years ago. It was prefect for me because it was close to where I was living in Nob Hill. Contraband Coffee. It was among my favorites-great environment with high tables and bright natural light, beautiful latte art, a variety of beans, and vegan scones and muffins (always a plus for me). The soy latte was incredible and my favorite was a roast from Costa Rica.

Now to my favorite coffee shop in San Francisco...unfortunately I only discovered it during my last weekend in town and it was not close to anywhere I had to be-ever. My friend Jessica had heard about it and we finally got around to visiting it during the week of our shows. Sightglass Coffee. The full store was not yet open but the coffee was being served from a garage-type bar. The service was amazing and the baristas took the time to help me decide on a bean variety and how I wanted it brewed. Happy servers always make the experience more enjoyable. I decided on a soy latte from a Costa Rican bean. The foam was beautifully crafted, the coffee tasted amazing and I kept a smile on my face until the last bit of foam was gone. Sightglass scored extra points for the bike parked by the door-first bike I had seen with an adorable and functional "fanny pack" attached to the back.

And of course there are plenty of chain coffee shops lining the streets of the city. Peets Coffee and Tea sport a mean vegan gingerbread cookie (thank you Natalia for introducing it to me). Philz Coffee is also a hotspot and has twenty blends to choose from. All carefully crafted  and handmade to accomadate whatever mood you are in!

I did eat when I was in the city as well...although I rediscovered coffee and tried not to eat out all that much, I could not avoid all the vegan restaurants in San Francisco. A new wave of restaurants opened recently on Folsom street and although many are meat heavy I was able to find many vegan options. One great place I tried was Zero Zero. Although it is mostly known for its pizza, the vegetable side dishes are amazing and change with the seasons. I heard about their brussels sprouts and I unfortunately missed them...but I did try a green bean dish that was out of this world! And a fabulous blackberry cocktail. Another enticing thing about SF is all the awesome bars and the libations they serve. Certain restaurants and bars have drink menus as long as novels! It's hard to choose sometimes. And I do not recommend letting the bartenders choose for you if you are vegan. I made that mistake after spending a few hours chatting with a certain mixologist. I felt confident that he knew my drink style and as he delivered a surprise drink of his choice I noticed a froth on top that could only be made by eggs...and yes the cocktail did have whipped egg whites. So beware if you are not into that. Otherwise...San Francisco cocktails are among the best I've had!!!

Another local organic spot that I tried in the mission was called Radish. The art and overall feel of the place was great...and the bottomless mimosas! I had a tempeh sandwich with vegetable chips that was pretty rockin.

As far as strictly vegan restaurants, Gracias Madre takes the cake. An all vegan, organic, mexican restaurant that ranks in my top five eateries anywhere. Seriously epic. Located in the heart of the mission, with a great outdoor patio, a local playing his guitar, a beautiful mural, and of course amazing food. My favorite dish is probably the sweet potato quesadilla appetizer. You must order this dish. It's incredible. the guacamole is also top notch, along with the vegetable tacos and grilled plantains. I would move to SF solely to eat at this restaurant weekly.

It was sad that I did not cook more over the past month but being busy, not having my own kitchen, and being surrounded by new places all contributed to this travesty. I did throw together a few new creations but I'll share them another time. For now, if you are visiting San Francisco consider these amazing spots...a few more to come along with pumpkin muffins, dance shots, and a coastal road trip !

ballet is my life

Taking a break from the food posts and dedicating today to ballet. Since Wednesday evening Ballet Arizona has been presenting Ballet Under the Stars to ballet lovers around Phoenix. We bring excerpts from past and present seasons to parks in the greater Phoenix area for free. You can bring a blanket, food, wine, and watch some dancing with scenic backdrops from Sun City to Glendale. Tonight is the second to last show and we are headed to Steele Indian School Park on Indian School and 3rd St. The program includes sections from A Midsummer Night's Dream and Divertimento No. 15 and well as a full length performance of The Four Temperaments. You should come out and support the arts in Phoenix! Not to mention that it takes a lot of energy to perform in the heat while trying to not swat the bugs that the stage lights attract. Not the most comfortable setting for the dancers but as long as there are fans and no rain...the show must go on! So, here are some ballet photographs to inspire you to come see the show.

These are two shots from a Mixed Rep  program that Ballet Arizona performed at the Orpheum Theatre. Former Ballet AZ dancers Heather Haar and Ross Clarke.

These are a few from a series I shot at the Ballet Arizona studios, inspired by Balanchine's La Valse. This is one of my favorite dancers in the company, Chelsea Early. She will be in the show tonight! You have two more chances to see the show so stop by!

Saturday, September 25th at Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix Sunday, September 26th at Sahuaro Ranch Park, Glendale